high school teacher and he'll talk about it in his book examine his experience. >> gretchen: you never knew he was going to do that. he said he was a bad student, but he wanted to see it from the other side. have a great day, everyone. keep it right here on fox. bill: good morning. want to start with a fox news alert where there is a deadly assault on the u.s. consulate in libya leaving four americans dead including the u.s. ambassador to this country. white house confirming the news a short time ago, calling ambassador chris stevens an exemplary representative for the united states and gave his life for our country. welcome to "america's newsroom." i'm bill hemmer. martha: good morning. bill. i'm martha macallum. a killing after u.s. ambassador, a violent event we have not seen in decades. how will the president react to this and also to the

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violence breaking out in egypt. bill: that is another attack on the u.s. embassy in cairo, egypt. this is video from there. [shouting] martha: protesters scaling the walls in cairo, tearing down the american flag, replacing it with a black islamic banner, similar to the one used by al qaeda. bill: want to start now. team fox coverage. greg palkot live in london. ed henry live at the white house. reaction from both. want to start with greg overseas. what is the latest there, greg? >> reporter: bill, martha, minute by minute we're piecing more details of the incident in libya. we know about the tragic deaths there, u.s. ambassador to libya, chris stevens was killed. second individual identified, his name was sean smith. very important information officer in the embassy. two other americans were killed. there are some reports

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though could be security. we do not have that confirmed. they were killed at or around the u.s. consulate in benghazi. this is the eastern side of libya. this happened overnight. stevens was a career diplomat. spent several stints in libya. the type of dedicate the american diplomat we come across all the time in that region. secretary clint said he was committed to america's values and interests. this was all about attack on the consulate by islamists protesting the film made in the united states critical of the muslim prophet mohammed. getting a lot of play on the internet. consulate burned down the vehicles perhaps the one in which the ambassador and other americans were hit by rockets. we heard from the leadership of the libyan government. they say they are sorry that they are looking for those responsible. one group being now thought as a possible suspect with allegiances to al qaeda but there are a lot of militant groups as we can tell you from our experience on the ground in libya in

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post-qaddafi era. bill: what can we report about what is happening in the region today, greg? >> reporter: seems like the chronology, bill, this was kicked off by another incident at another u.s. embassy, the one that you just mentioned in cairo, egypt. eng, as you describe, protesters there angry about that film scaled the wall, took down the u.s. flag. burnt that and hoisted another black flag with arabic righting on it. we've been in contact with staffers today at the embassy. they say they're not experiencing any problems today. there is a lot of security and there is a lot of caution all around the world. another report we got in the past hour, bill, there is new warning for u.s. individuals in algeria to be careful because they're concerned about action there. in fact, in the statement, that president obama issued regarding the deaths of the u.s. diplomats he says that the united states will provide all necessary resources for security, personnel and libya and around the world. this is a global concern,

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very at least, a regional concern as we look harder at incidents there. bill: all this happened yesterday on the date of the calendar was september 11th. is there a connection there, greg or what can we report on that? >> reporter: there has been no declared connection. certainly it is an eerie coincidence at the very least and underscoring of security concerns for americans and the risks inherent in serving in these countries, especially in that region, bill. bill: greg, there will be a lot to report throughout the day. thank you. we'll be back in touch with you live in london. martha has more. martha: breaking news on this as we mentioned chris stevens is not the first u.s. ambassador to be killed in the line of duty. looking back five others have been killed by terrorists before ambassador stevens. the last time we've seen this toe was back until 1979 when adolph doves was killed in afghanistan. two other u.s. ambassadors had their lives taken in plane crashes. bill: this is what we understand.

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the militants, the protesters, whatever you call them, they claim all this started with an obscure movie not played in theaters, not released in a movie cinema but rather released online. muslims in libya and egypt said they were enraged because of it. >> the libyans don't like to say something bad about their prophet. he is not usama bin laden. he is not anybody else. he's our prophet. he is the --. don't make our people angry because they will kill, they will fight. they will do such a situation. this is situation because of the americans. they want to say something about our prophet. >> it is a shame that your president allows such offenses from your country against the prophet of islam. bill: this is our understanding, that the rioters were egged on through social media, perhaps even their own personal facebook page.

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and it turned into what amounted to a flashmob on the scene of the embassy in cairo. there are fears today the protests could spread to other countries in the middle east and northern africa. just gotten word as greg palkot mentioned there, that the u.s. embassy in algeria is warning americans there to avoid nonessential travel. we'll keep an eye on that. martha: we're getting new reaction to these attacks from the white house. chief white house correspondent ed henry is there live. ed, obviously a lot of people waiting for the official response to all of this from the white house. what are they saying? >> reporter: that's right, martha. this information coming in minute by minute. we're now told by a white house official late last night the president was informed that ambassador stevens was unaccounted for but they were waiting overnight to get the official confirmation that he had been killed. that came in to the president we're told early this morning. the president has put out a long written statement that basically strongly condemns the outrage just attackcalls itd ambassador stevens of the he calls him a courageous man

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who selflessly served his nation and goes on to say, i have directed my administration to provide all necessary resource toss support the security of our personnel in libya and increase security at our diplomatic posts around the globe. while the u.s. reject efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others we must unequivocally oppose the senseless violence that took the lives of these public servants. the president is scheduled to leave in a few hours to las vegas and denver for campaign travel. unclear whether that schedule will change or whether or not the president will, before leaving will make some sort of on-camera statement but he put out the written statement making clear he strongly condemns what is going on, martha. martha: that is the big question, martha. will it cause changes in the schedule for today. how serious does the white house take this. do they feel the president needs to make a public statement beyond this written statement that we've seen. it really puts foreign policy in many ways front and center for the

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humanitarian reasons and also for the campaign now it would seem. >> reporter: absolutely because governor romney last night put out a very sharply worded statement say it was outrage just in his mind that the u.s. embassy in cairo, violence you were talking about separately in egypt first started yesterday, that the u.s. embassy in cairo put out some tweets and put out a statement that basically suggested they were apologizing for that anti-muslim film you and bill mention ad moment ago. to be clear secretary of state hillary clinton has since made clear that statement was not veted in washington and that there is no justification at all for any of this violence but governor romney jumping on all of that. i can tell you that ben la bolt, obama campaign spokesman not the white house but chicago campaign spokesman in said quote, we're shocked at a time when the united states of america is confronting the tragic death of one of our diplomatic officers in libya governor romney would choose to launch a political attack.

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let's not also forget yesterday another controversy brew up in the middle east. the fact that israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu his office suggested a meeting with the president later this month when they're both going to be in new york for the united nation general assembly meetings. the white house says they don't have time to put the meeting together. the two leaders will not be in new york at the same time. given what is going on in the region, the violence we're talking about, and nuclear threat potentially from iran that benjamin netanyahu wants to talk about with the president, this led to the president having a one-hour phone call with the prime minister to try to patch things up. there is a lot going on. basically the idea of foreign policy injected back into the campaign, you better believe it, martha. martha: thanks so much. ed henry. we'll hear more from him no doubt as we get the official response and news whether or not the president will speak. as ed mentioned governor mitt romney criticizing the administration response to all this. hear is the quote. i'm outraged by the attacks on american diplomatic

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missions in libya and egypt and by the death of an american consulate worker in benghazi. it was put out before it was indeed the ambassador. back to his text now. it is graceful that the obama administration's first response was not to condemn the attacks on our diplomatic mission but sympathize with those who waged the attacks. that was walked back by the white house as ed pointed out. they disavowed the statement and said that was not the white house's take on the situation. one big question in all of this how would governor romney responded in the same situation? we'll ask former presidential candidate governor tim pawlenty. he is co-chair for the romney campaign. he will join us live on this issue a bit later. there is a lot of discussion about the foreign policy experience about governor romney. there are a lot of questions what he would have done in the situation. bill: meantime, martha, i want to show you a bit of geography, what the neighborhood, northeast africa, libya, right next here to egypt. they share a common border

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that runs for several hundred miles. largely desert that border is. remember the arab spring. it began in tunisia. and swept across the entire area, specifically in syria, over here in the eastern mediterranean, wages on further today. the capital of libya is tripoli here. advance it. all this is happening in libya in benghazi well to the east, the second major city in libya. that is where the consulate was attacked and where our u.s. ambassador was killed late last night. to the east across this border is cairo, to give you a sense of the geography in the area. this revolution took seven months in egypt. in libya took about eight months. based on some of the images that we are seeing right now many people argue that the revolution has still not settled in either country and they're still on their way. we'll see which way it goes. this was total shock yesterday. we were sitting watching events of september 11th and

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went home and in the evening hours saw a much different picture shape up in that area. martha: let's get a little background on the kind of violence we've seen here related to the prophet mohammed over time n 2005 riots beak out in many muslim countries after publication of 12 caricatures of the prophet mohammed in a danish newspaper. the cartoonist kirk wester guard was almost kid in a assassination attempt. two years later, pakistan blocked twitter because they refused to remove tweets they considered offensive to islam. it prompted a contest to post images of the muslim prophet mohammed. in the midst of all that you have the deaths of 70 to 80 cop tick christians -- copic christians in egypt.

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bill: we're not sure whether they saw the film. they were getting social media referred to them as i referred to earlier as a flashmob. martha: that drew people into the streets for the arab spring. social media got a lot of credit in many ways for the arab spring and mobilizing people. bill: we'll digest this throughout the morning. get you best analysis. we're getting it now. we have breaking developments on the attacks in arab world. fox news obtains exclusive information on the investigation into the "fast and furious" operation that's been linked to the death of border patrol agent brian terry who the report blames for that botched gun-walking operation? we'll talk to congressman darrell issa about that. martha: drenching rains in the desert left parts of sin city underwater and strand several drivers. look at video. we'll show you rescue efforts being carried out.

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martha: all right. welcome back, as expected we're getting a lot of response to this news of the killing of the u.s. ambassador in benghazi, libya. we're now being told that mitt romney, governor romney will speak about this and 9:35 this morning. we will bring you those comments when they come in. in the meantime speaker boehner is now also talking about this. he is condemning the attacks on americans in libya including the u.s. ambassador, christopher stevens. the speaker says this, quote, we mourn for the families of our countrymen in benghazi and condemn this horrific attack. 11 years after september 11th, this is a jolting reminder that freedom remains under siege by forces around the globe who relish violence overfree expression and terror over democracy and that america and free people everywhere must remain vigilant in the defense of our liberties. that from speaker boehner just moments ago. bill: it is quite remarkable

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in 24 hours how quickly foreign policy can come to the for front because there is this story that ed henry mentioned moments ago. israel ratcheting up the u.s. on taking a tougher stance against iran on the showdown for the nuclear program. prime minister benjamin netanyahu criticizing the administration for refusing to set a clear deadline what is and is not acceptable beyond which military action would follow, otherwise known as a red line. listen here. >> the world tells israel, wait, there's still time. and i say, wait for what? wait until when? those international community who refuse to put red lines before iran don't have a moral right to place a red light before israel. bill: well the white house denies any rift between the two countries and its leaders but there are

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several reports that the administration rejected israel's request for a meeting later in the month of september in washington. alan colmes, host of the alan colmes radio show and gretchen hamel, executive director of public notice and former spokesman for the white house republican conference. good morning to both of you. where are we on this when netanyahu is out there with this tough, tough speech, wait for what, wait until when? >> that is what everyone is wondering wait until when. you had the president last night very big miscommunication on between the white house and netanyahu whether they would be meeting or not meeting. when it comes down to it they're not in new york city at the same time because the president put campaigning for the re-election over his job of governing. we see that time and time again. he doesn't have time to meet with his jobs council. doesn't have time for his intelligence briefings. he doesn't have time to meet with some of our closest allies while they are all in new york city. bill: just to update viewers

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on the flurry of reports from yesterday, it was reported that netanyahu requested a meeting. that was denied because of skid lincoln flicks. later white house said there was no request and there was no denial. we know last night netanyahu and president obama spoke for about an hour. alan, where are we. >> republicans look to making political hay. romney will get in this a moment. made an unfortunate statement the minute we had a tragedy in libya he politicized. republicans trying to politicize netanyahu and obama when there is lots of daylight. they spoke an hour last night put a hole in the story there was diplomatic rift. there is no diplomatic rift as far as i know. in terms of netanyahu in the clip you played it looks like he can't wait to start a war, defense secretary leon panetta said yesterday we would have enough time, if indeed we had intelligence were to develop or were developing --.

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bill: what we're arguing you must tell iran where it must stop. >> i understand. bill: hang on one second, gretchen. they say, this is from "meet the press" on sunday. they're not certain what the capital of israel might be. reference to jerusalem during the dnc last week. i find that one more example of israel being thrown under the bus by the president. it continued. the president has not drawn us any further away from a nuclear iran. he argues that this is president obama's greatest failure, gretchen. >> well this is something that we've consist 10ly been talking about over the course of the past four years. this isn't about making political hay. this is about talking the president's record on this issue. he has snubbed actually when they're in washington, d.c. not giving enough time for a meeting. as president he hasn't traveled to israel. this time last week we were debating where the president and democratic party actually stand on these issues with their convention platform. we're not making political hay. bill: alan i have five seconds i apologize. give you last word. >> ronald reagan didn't

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visit israel --. martha: we're breaking in here. we have this news just crossing. president obama will speak about this at 10:35 eastern time in the rose garden on the killing of the u.s. ambassador. we'll be right back. i'm freaking out man. he's, he's on my back about providing for his little girl. hey don't worry. e-trade's got a killer investing dashboard. everything is on one page. i'm watching you. oh yeah? well i'm watching you, watching him.

martha: all right. fox news alert. this is the answer to the question we asked moments ago with ed henry. we now know that the president will speak about this. that will happen at 10:35 from the rose garden at the white house. we're also getting reports that hillary clinton will be with him at that appearance in the rose garden. also mitt romney will speak about this as well, the killing of the u.s. ambassador in libya, a huge story this morning, that has a lot of ramifications. romney will speak on this at approximately 9:35 this morning.

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we'll bring you that as well. meantime i'm joined by former ambassador to the united nations to the u.s. john bolton. first of all your thoughts on the killing of christopher stevens? >> well, this is a great tragedy. it reflects a desperately unknown situation in the region. security obviously very much at risk. you combine it with the penetration of the perimeter at the embassy in cairo and brings to mind tehran in 1979, not just in libya and egypt but around the middle east. i think the administration has to do two things very quickly. it has to work to secure americans, official americans and private citizens throughout the region from the threat i think that is there. second it has to respond very strongly to the failures of the egyptian and libyan governments to protect our personnel. this is absolutely unacceptable. martha: how much credence do you put into the idea that this movie is what spurred

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all of this? i ask, there is one report come through from the "jerusalem post" that says egyptian intelligence had some inkling there might be an attack against u.s. or israeli embassies in cairo or in libya. what do you think the big picture is here? >> one question is why our intelligence didn't pick that up. obviously we were taken by surprise. that's always a mistake. look, these people weren't living placidly until that trailer appeared on youtube. this is just the pretext for these demonstrations. i think you've got to come back to the culpability of the governments of egypt and libya in allowing this to happen or not at least, putting adequate security out there to protect our personnel and our facilities. martha: what about the president's response so far? we expect to hear from him at 10:30? >> he has a lot on the line here. he better be very, very

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strong because a weak response such as we've seen so far from our embassy in egypt, repudiated today, but simply invites more of the same. if we don't make it clear we will not accept this then i think others around the region will take it as a signal. the snubbing of israeli prime minister netanyahu frankly is another signal we're leaving that key ally out on a him. this is a, this is a very dangerous period for america. without strong response and strong leadership it will only get more dangerous. martha: define a strong response for me. what do you expect, what would you want the president to say, after that if you indicate what you think governor romney should say? he will be out in a few minutes? >> i think president obama has to say to egypt and libya, if anything like this happens again, we're pulling out, pulling assistance out. we're not going to tolerate it anywhere else in the region.

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not pool guising for free speech in america the i assume that trailer is hateful. we don't apologize for it. it is not an official action. we defend our system. we defend our people and we make a very strong response rhetorically and if need be by pulling the assistance. martha: you are an advisor to the romney campaign. he will be speaking about this moments from now. what do you pect he will say? >> well i don't know. i would say what i just said but there you go. martha: ambassador bolton, thank you very much. >> thank you. martha: good to see you this morning. bill: we're looking live picture jacksonville, florida. awaiting a number of events today. governor mitt romney will address what's happened last night and also events of today and the assassination of our ambassador in libya, chris stevens. we'll also hear from the president later next hour. he will be live in the rose garden. stay tuned for all of that. 9:30 here in new york. there is a lot to report. we'll follow all of it as we continue right after this. jack, you're a little boring.

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based on this chart, bill: breaking news. jennifer tkpwufpb reporting from thgriffin reporting from the pentagon. there is a marine team made up of 50 marines sent to secure the embassy in be benzazi. the ambassador was killed there. no marines were killed with the

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ambassador in bengazi. the u.s. marines are responsible for security inside the embassy walls all overt world. wha over the world. what happens outside the walls is the responsibility and duty of the governing body of that country. peter brooks, former cia officers, senior fellow, is with me right now. good morning to you. >> good morning to you. >> what is happening between egypt and libya now? how do we understand this? >> very, very difficult. we are living in a very unsettled situation in that part of the world. we are not even talking about syria today. this is a whole new crisis that we're dealing w. it's important that we understand what happens to us overseas is very important to us. we need strong leadership from the president and this is a tragedy on several levels. obviously on a personal level for the familiar leave the ambassador and others and for

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international relation and our own security. >> is there because of some internet film that may or may not have been viewed in cairo, bengazi or other parts of the world. piece it together. >> i'm skeptical of that. someone was playing in wait to ambush the ambassador's car with an rpg. it could have meant to be used on the gate on the consult in bengszi, or was he targeted, they knew someone would exit that compound and were waiting for him. i suspect we'll learn more, maybe al-qaida involved here. i'm worried about what is next, what is the next shoe to drop here? bill: has it been conferred he was killed by an rpg. >> i assume we'll hear more on that. we'll hear more from the president in about an hour or

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so. it appears that an american embassy vehicle was attacked. whether the ambassador was in that or not is another question. >> you mentioned american leadership. governor romney will speak shortly in jacksonville. we'll hear from the president at the white house in about one hour from now. leadership, how? how do we assert ourselves and take control of a situation that was seemingly out of control in two major cities last night? >> it's very simple, bill. john bolton talked about this as well. a strong statement condemning this sort of violence and calling upon these governments to bring these people to justice or perhaps maybe we should suggest that we will if they don't. critically important that we don't get this be a precedent and a sign of american weakness on the international stage. i'm very bothered by presidential leadership right now. we saw an article that came out in "the washington post" about the president missing his daily intelligence briefings. the president is engaged on national security and now it's time for him to express whether

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it's libya, egypt, china, you have to take care of national security issues. >> what do you make of the marines being deployed to b erbs ngazi. >> critically important. we have to make sure that there are other embassy under threat, other american interests and citizens are protected as well. everybody in the intelligence business and the national security business here is spinning going 24-7 to prevent another attack. >> we gave give egypt almost $3 billion a year. >> we had a hundred business then there on a trade mission, we talked about excusing a billion dollars in debt. look at libya, american lives were on the line to aid that transition in libya and then they kill the american ambassador and attack the consulate, it's unconscionable, it's outrage just. >> we also led the nato war in

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libya to get rid of moammar qaddafi. >> yes. that's what i meant two. martha: we are getting word that secretary of state hillary clinton will speak in about ten minutes. we expect obviously that she will comment on the situation in bengazi and the loss of one of our u.s. ambassadors, the killing of christopher stevensment i'm joined by darrell issa. he has served on the foreign affairs committee, we were going to talk about a different subject, but this is the subject of the day, your thoughts. >> martha, chris stevens was a career diplomat, someone who began with the peace corps. i ran into him over the years. he had a desk assignment he was in syria than egypt. he is something used to working both with dictators and quite frankly with people that you

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wouldn't like on the other side. his loss will mark the first time in decades that we've lost a ambassador, the last senior diplomat we lost was in jordan a few years ago. it's unusual and we have to take it in perspective. these men and women know they put their lives in harm's way every day. he is somebody that went out in the community, did things more boldly than some would do, but did them because he was trying to bring a country that had lived under a dictator for 40 years back from that. it perhaps reflects poorly on our security in the area but that is for other investigations to deal with. right now we are dealing with the first loss of a full ambassador since 1979. martha: we are waiting for more he details on what exactly happened. the initial reports were he and other were killed in the fire that was set to the building. the later reports that they were found in a car and that there were gunshot wound involved and possibly suffocation. it does raise some questions, and perhaps you're correct that

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they are for another day, but it raises questions about what the security was like there. >> martha we have three walls of defense that we deal with when we put our embassies in foreign countries. the first is of course our own c.i.a., our own intelligence forces that try to assess the threat level against our embassy and their personnel. the second and perhaps the most important, in fact is our foreign host, who has a responsibility to provide a safe environment and to deal with mobs and gatherings and so on and then of course lastly usually our u.s. marines who guard the embassy and the ambassador, along with foreign service personnel for that. that last money can never be the only -- we can't fortify these embassies tphufs with just our soldiers, sailors and marines and the like. we are have to depend on our host country. that's what the state department will look like, do we have the

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support of our host country, in egypt with a country that its less pro american. we were going to talk about brian terry and the naming of a border patrol station in his name which is also a solemn event for somebody who died in the line of duty perhaps only because we weren't doing our job here in america. martha: congressman, thank you. darrell issa from the capitol. bill: chris stevens grew up in northern california, a student at perk lee university in california, northern california. speaks client arabic and french, has served for many years in libya including his latest post arriving in tripoli may of 2012, this past spring. he served twice in libya. 1983 to 85 he taught english in the spaoes cor peace corps in morocco. his entire life has been given for his country and now he is gone. secretary of state hillary

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clinton will talk in a matter of five minutes. we believe she will address the events in bengazi and cairo and we'll standby on that. also awaiting mitt romney in jacksonville, florida. next hour the president is live in the rose garden. back in a moment. [ thunder crashes ] [ male announcer ] if you think all batteries are the same... consider this: when the unexpected happens, there's one brand of battery more emergency workers trust in their maglites: duracell. one reason: duralock power preserve. it locks in power for up to 10 years in storage.

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i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. call and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, it could save you thousands in out-of-pocket costs. call now to request your free decision guide. i've been with my doctor for 12 years. now i know i'll be able to stick with him. you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. plus, there are no networks,

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and you never need a referral. see why millions of people have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp. don't wait. call now. bill: back to our breaking news right now. there is a lot to follow. be patient with us when we move from headlines overseas, from the white house, to the state department. mitt romney set to appear in a matter of moments. screen left is the state department, hillary clinton to deliver a statement in matter of moments as well. first to carl cameron traveling with governor romney in florida. what can be expected now. >> this began as what was described as a victory rally in his headquarters in jacksonville. the events overnight have clearly over taken that. we expect mr. romney to say something as he's addressing supportress at the campaign

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headquarters about the violence and the death of the u.s. ambassador in benghazi. whether or not mr. romney then follows up his remarks here to the volunteers with an avail we are also waiting for the possibility of him taking from reporters. last night there was a statement prepared by romney at midnight. they released it a little earlier than that in which mr. romney was very critical of the cry row embassy in egypt and their statement about the violence in which they express some regret about the movie trailer that many of the terrorists and riot teres incited violence on the u.s. in egypt and lebanon. he says it's disgraceful that their first response was not to -- there had been rhetoric in the mission statement saying that the u.s. deplores anything critical of any religion, islam

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or otherwise. what the embassy in cairo said is they condemn the efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the feelings of muslims. after the romney critical statement the obama for america campaign fired back and said we're shocked at a time when the united states of america is confronting the tragic death of one of our people in libya that governor romney would launch an attack. at the time they did not know that the ambassador had died, perhaps there was a staff death and there was rioting overseas. >> is governor romney en route to the event? do you know if the statement will be read off paper? do you have advance knowledge of what he's prepared to say now? >> su nice to it say there is a fair amount of moving parts to the romney campaign this morning. there is always a concern for a challenging presidential candidate that the incumbent in world affairs will suck up all

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the oxygen for potential headlines in getting one's message out. this is the type of crisis where the commander-in-chief takes center stage and the opponent mitt romney can be squeezed out. romney will make remarks to the volunteers today. he probably will talk to the press there after. this is the kind of thing that can really change the dynamic of a race. mr. romney is not an expert in international affairs. he did go to israel and went to poland and london and met with benjamin netanyahu and frankly there is a lot of discussion about whether or not mr. romney today will make issue of the president's unwillingness or in ability to have a meeting with mr. benjamin netanyahu next week when he's visiting for u.n. meet insurance in new york. a lot of flap about that. expect mr. romney to be critical, to suggest that the obama administration's foreign policy is the kind of thing that creates environments where this type of violence can ultimately take place. it will be interesting to see how aggressively he takes it and whether or not he addresses the

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criticism from the obama campaign last in it for his having allegedly politicized this. the american position has always been one in supporting of religious tolerance. the idea that romney yesterday criticized the obama administration for apologizing for a film may be a big part of his attack. bill. martha: carl, it's martha here. i want to point out on the right hand side of your screen we're waiting for hillary clinton to step out on make her statement, and on the left hand side of your screen is in carl is in jacksonville. mitt romney moments away from making his statement about the killing of ambassador christopher stevens. this is a huge story today and will reverb grea kwraeut throughout the am pain. they want to know what kind of foreign policy response we will see from the president and what we will see from the potential

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president mitt romney as well. this is a moment for mitt romney to appear presidential and knowledgeable about all of these kinds of affairs and yet he walks a fine line. >> and watch for pressure from the right on president obama to be much more assertive in how he deals with the libyan and egyptian governments. this sort of violence, mitt romney will say, must stop and president obama needs to do something in order to affect that cessation of violence there. has been tension between president obama and the israeli prime minister. there has been a tremendous amount of criticism from mitt romney of president obama's foreign policy. he has long criticized mr. obama's quote lead from behind policies, and this is an opportunity for mr. romney to revoice that criticism. again as the challenger, as the nonincumbent he obviously doesn't have his hands-on the leave verse of government, this is the obama policy that is under fire, the obama policy and

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reaction will be scrutinized. mitt romney will encourage that likely with criticism however he has to make sure that he doesn't sort of contribute to any disunity in the u.s. the idea that this is pwhrapbl blanket national repudiation of the violence, something that mr. romney will standby. and we'll hope he talks to reporters there after. bill: we see a little movement at the state department. carl don't leave us yet. go back to the statement where he used the word day disgraceful. that was before we had knowledge of the u.s. ambassador being killed. have you had contact directly with the romney team earlier today, or at this point today? do they standby that statement? >> oh, sure. they weren't aware that the u.s. ambassador had been killed. they were aware that there had been a death of a staffer in one of the missions, they weren't sure if it was an american at

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the time or perhaps someone else working there. besides that, what romney's criticism was essentially revolves around the cairo embassy statement that said that the u.s. deplores the type of rhetoric and information contained in what is essentially a movie trailer, a web video advertising a movie made by an israeli living in california. the purpose of which was to criticize and point out in the director-producer's word the hypocrisies of islam. the mission in cairo said that the u.s. deplores such things. romney would not dispute that. his argument was that that was inappropriate to first be apologetic for something that was not a u.s.-government film entire low a private enterprize and not deplore the violence and criticize those responsible for it, instead making the rhetorical suggestion romney is that this was an apology before

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an attack. bill: why apologize first before we have more information. >> right. martha: we are waiting for secretary of state hillary clinton. her statement is expected to be first. as we also have told you the president will make his own statement. he was scheduled to go to nevada today. we don't know whether there has been any change in his campaign schedule as a result of all this. he will speak from the rose garden at 10:35 at the tim35 is the time we've been given so far. all of these events have been pushed later. you can imagine, bill that there is a bit of thinking, discussing, and scrambling to some extent as everybody tries to absorb what has happened, and as was pointed out in morning by a former adviser to richard nixon, you know, it can be considered, he said, he considered it to be an act of war to have an assault against a u.s. embassy. all of our embassy all around the world are considered to be basically the soil of the united

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states of america in those countries. they are protected as we have pointed out by the u.s. marines. we now know that 50 more of them and a team are on the way to try to secure that embassy. the seriousness of this event really cannot be underestimated. so the president when he comes out at 10:30 no doubt will be wanting to a pie pier very stronappear in his spropbs, hillary clinton as well. >> one appeared in cairo,egypt, the u.s. embassy in cairo had been attacked by a mob, they mounted the walls and went over-the-top ripping apart a large hand-made american flag. there were news cameras covering this event, there was a fire that followed that. meanwhile in benghazi libya the u.s. consulate came under attack

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where christopher stevens the american ambassador 52 is dead along with three other americans. the country of libya issued an apology apologizing for the violence that occurred at the consulate there. as we track those movements from overseas we await the first statement from hillary clinton, secretary of state, who is now back in washington after a long road trip overseas during the democratic convention that concluded and got underway last week in charlotte, north carolina. hillary clinton is on deck. mitt romney is on deck, in 35 minutes so too is president obama, all that right here as "america's newsroom" continues after this.

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martha: let's go direct leak to the secretary of state hillary clinton. >> heavily armed militants assaulted the compound and set fire to our buildings. american and libyan security personnel battled the attackers together. four americans were killed. they included shaun smith, a foreign service information management officer, and our ambassador to libya, chris stevens. we are still making next of kin notification for the other two individuals. this is an attack that should shock the conscience of people of all faiths around the world.

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we condemn in the strongest terms this senseless act of violence, and we send our prayers to the families, friends, and colleagues of those we've lost. all over the world every day america's diplomats and development experts risk their lives in the service of our country and our values, because they believe that the united states must be a force for peace and progress in the world, that these aspirations are worth striving and sacrificing for. alongside our men and women in uniform they represent the best traditions of a bold and generous nation. in the lobby of this building, the state department, the names of those who have fallen in the line of duty are inscribed in

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marble. our hearts break over each one. and now because of this tragedy we have new heros to honor and more friends to mourn. chris stevens fell in love with the middle east as a young peace corps volunteer teaching english in morocco. he joined the foreign service, learned languages, won friends for america in distant places and made other people's hopes his own. in the are the early days of the libyan revolution i asked chris to be our envoy to the rebel opposition. he arrived on a cargo ship in the port of benghazi and began building our relationships with libya's revolutionary. he risked his life to stop a

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tyrant, then gave his life trying to help build a better libya. the world needs more chris stevenses. i spoke with his sister ann this morning and told her that he will be remembered as a hero by many nations. shaun smith was an air force veteran, he spent ten years as an information management officer in the state department. he was posted athe hague and was in libya on a brief temporary assignment. he was a husband to his wife heather, with whom i spoke this morning, he was a father to two young children, samantha and nathan. they will grow up being proud of the service their father gave to

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our country, service that took him from pretoria, to baghdad and finally to benghazi. the mission that drew chris and shaun and their colleagues to libya is both noble and necessary. and we and the people of libya honor their memory by carrying it forward. this is not easy. today many americans are asking, indeed i asked myself, how could this happen? how could this happen in a country we helped liberate, in a city we helped save from destruction? this question reflects just how complicated and at times how confounding the world can be. but we musting clear-eyed even

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in our grief. this was an attack by a small and savage group, not the people or government of libya. everywhere chris and his team went in libya, in a country scarred by war and teur tyranny, they were hailed as friends and partners. and when the attack came yesterday libyans stood and fought to defend our post. some were wounded. libyans care read chris' body to the hospital and they helped rescue and lead other americans to safety. and last night when i spoke with the president of libya he strongly condemned the violence and pledged every effort to protect our people and pursue those responsible.

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the friendship between our countries, born out of shared struggle, will not be another casualty of this attack. a free and stable libya is still in america's interest and security, and we will not turn our back on that. nor will we rest until those responsible for these attacks are found and brought to justice. we are working closely with the libyan authorities to move swiftly and surely. we are also working with partners around the world to safeguard other american embassies, consulates and citizens. there will be more time later to reflect, but today we have work to do. there is no higher priority than protecting our men and women wherever they serve. we are working to determine the

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precise motivations and methods of those who carried out this assault. some have sought to justify this vicious behavior, along with the protest that took place at our embassy in cairo yesterday as a response to inflammatory material posted on the internet. america's commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our nation. but let me be clear, there is no just my indicationo justification for this. none. violence like this is no way to honor religion or faith, and as long as there are those who would take innocent life in the name of god, the world will never know a true and lasting peace. it is especially difficult that this happened on

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september 11th. it's an anniversary that means a great deal to all americans. every year on that day we are reminded that our work is not yet finished, that the job of putting an end to violent extremism and building a safe and stable world continues. but september 11th means even more than that. it is a day on which we remember thousands of american heros. the bonds that connect all americans, wherever we are on this earth, and the values that see us through every storm. and now it is a day on which we will remember shaun, chris and their colleagues. may god bless them, and may god bless the thousands of americans working in every corner of the world who make this country the

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greatest force for peace, prosperity, and progress, and a force that has always stood for human dignity, the greatest force the world has ever known. and may god continue to bless the united states of america. thank you. martha: a very strong, very personal statement from the secretary of state hillary clinton. she talked about how american and libyan forces together tried to battle what she called a small and savage assault on the libyan embassy. she talked about how she personally asked chris stevens to serve as our envoy in libya and how he took the boat across to benghazi to carry that out, and the importance of what he felt he was doing there, that he spent every day of his time there trying to first help to

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topple a dictator and then to help build a nation, his dedication to that cause, she was obviously very emotional. she said she spoke to his sister today, she also spoke to the family, the wife of shaun smith, the informations analyst also killed in this assault. he was only in benghazi a short time. she said she spoke to his wife, and he was the father of two young children. i'm speaking of the informations specialist and you're seeing a picture of chris stevens who had a long and prestigious career with the department of state, spoke many languages and had a true love of the middle east that grew inside of him when he was a peace corps volunteer in that area, a truly heart-felt statement from hillary clinton that also touched on the importance of all of this happening during september 11th, and also of the importance of what she sees as our continued commitment to building a stable situation and government in libya. she spoke as i said from the

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heart and is also the head of state. let's go toed henry who is standing by at the white house, he has new information about a very fluid situation for the president today. >> that's right, martha, you know the president will be speaking about 10:35am eastern time in the rose garden following up on what the secretary of state just said. a senior official telling me they are still monitoring the situation obviously so it's unclear whether the president is going to go ahead with his planned campaign trip later today in nevada then onto colorado with an event there tomorrow. obviously with all this whirling around they are going to have to reevaluate and they are doing that now in terms of whether the campaign takes a back seat. we'll see what the president has to say in the rose garden. you hit it right on the head the secretary mixing the personal with the policy here and speaking very emotionally about the ambassador martha. martha: thank you. bill: violence is no way to honor religion, those words from hillary clinton moments ago. we will hear the first records from mitt romney in a matter of

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moments live in jacksonville. that is coming up in a matter of moments after this break. whole and stays whole. see the seam? more pcessed flakes look nothing like natural grains. i'm eating what i kn is better nutrition. mmmm. great grains. search great grains and see for yourself.

bill: back to our breaking news before the commercial break you heard from the secretary of state hillary clinton. in a matter of moments live in jacksonville governor mitt romney is prepared to make a statement, and we understand he may take questions. now a romney campaign event was expected to begin 45 minutes ago. the event itself has been put on hold until after the statement is delivered, which we expect in a matter of moments. carl cameron traveling with governor romney with us now. carl, what are you learning from the team down there in. >> well, we will see mr. romney emerge in just a few minutes. he will take questions from the press. there are three or four dozen of us that travel with him periodically over the course of the campaign. most of them are here. this was supposed to be a rally starting at 6:00 this morning the public was filing into what amounts to the campaign headquarters in jacksonville. there were perhaps 50 to a

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hundred folks here 15 or 20 minutes ago. the entire room was cleared. the citizens are outside the building. we can show ahh shot of them as they watch from outside. they are no longer metal detected when they come back in presumably later for the rally they will have to be reswept as they say, but romney will take questions from the press and this will be his opportunity to comment on the violence last night in both benghazi as well as in cairo. he was very critical in a statement last night of the obama administration particularly the cairo mission that had apologized in mr. romney's view for the movie trailer that the extremists say incited the violence. there with us a great deal more going on with what happened yesterday around the world targeting u.s. missions and elsewhere than just a movie trailer, and we'll see what mr. romney has to say about that. he has been particularly critical of the obama administration when it comes to mideast policy. he kept a sort of hands-off criticism of the situation in egypt and in libya, but as it

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relates to other countries in the region mr. romney has been -- has not hesitated to criticize the obama administration's one time description of leading from behind. we know that there is at least 50 marines going over there according to the white house and the administration. mr. romney will certainly be asked about that and the notion that the united states under the obama administration has been too quick to apologize to its foreign allies and in some cases it's adversaries. mr. romney did not intend to have a news conference today. this was supposed to be a very quick advice to it jacksonville thanking supporters and largely for fundraising. his strategy has been fairly low key, not a lot of campaigning after the republican convention, in tphart because he's getting ready for debates. this is a classic example of how as we get closer and closer to election today world events and things beyond the campaign's control can totally change what the campaign is about. for months hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on ads about the economy and jobs and now we find ourselves absorbed with international

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violence aimed at the u.s. and the death of an ambassador. the secretary of state, soon the president, and his challenger mitt romney holding news conference toes talk about all this. romney has a challenge here. it's an opportunity in which he sits as a position at a disadvantage. he is not the inch calm he ban or commander-in-chief, this is his time to show his ability to deal with these things. there you see him now. >> good morning. americans woke up this morning with tragic news and felt heavy hearts as they considered that individuals who have served in our diplomatic core were brutally murdered across the world. this attack on american individuals and embassies is outrageous, it's disgusting, it breaks the hearts of all of us who think of these people who have served during their lives for the cause of freedom, and justice and honor. we mourn their loss and join

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together in prayer that the spirit of the all mighty might comfort the families of those who have been so brutally slain. four diplomats lost their life, including the u.s. ambassador j. christopher stevens in the attack on our embassy at benghazi libya. and of course with these words i extend my condolances to the grieving loved ones who have been left behind as a result of these who have lost their lives in the service of our nation. and i know that the people across america are grateful for their service, and we mourn their sacrifice. america will not tolerate attacks against our citizens and against our embassies, we'll defend also our constitutional rights of speech, and assembly, and religion. we have confidence in our cause in america.

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we respect our constitution. we stand for the principles our constitution protects. we encourage other nations to understand and respect the principles of our constitution, because we recognize that these principles are the ultimate source of freedom for individuals around the world. possibly the administration was wrong to standby a statement sympathizing with those who had breached our embassy in egypt instead of condemning their actions. its never too early for the united states government to condemn attacks on americans and to defend our values. the white house distanced itself last night from the statement saying it wasn't cleared by washington. that reflects the mixed signals they are sending to the world. the attacks in libya and egypt under score that the world remains a dangerous place and that american leadership is still sorely needed. in the face of this violence america cannot shrink from the

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responsibility to lead. american leadership is necessary to insure that events in the region don't spin out of control. we cannot hesitate to use our influence in the region to support those who share our values and our interests. over the last several years we've stood witness to an arab spring that presents an opportunity for a more peaceful and prosperous region but also poses the potential for perfectly if the forces of extremism and violence are allowed to control the course of events. we must strive to insure that the arab spring does not become an arab winter. with that i'm happy to take any questions you may have. steve. >> the statement you referred to was a a tough lee worded statement last night. do you regret the tone at all given what we know >> the embassy in cairo put out a statement after their grounds had been breached, protestors were inside the grounds, they reiterated that statement after

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the breach. i think heights a terrible course for america to stand in apology for our values, that instead when our ground are being attacked and being breached that the first response of the united states must be outrage at the breach of the sovereignty of our nation. and apology for america's values is never the right course. >> governor romney do you think, though, coming so soon after the events really had unfolded overnight was appropriate, to be weighing on this as this crisis is unfolding in realtime? >> the white house also issued a statement saying it tried to distance itself from those comments and said they were not reflecting of their views. i had the exact same reaction. these views were inappropriate. they were the wrong course to take when our embassy has been breached by protestors.

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the first response should not be to say, yes, we standby our comments that suggest that there is something wrong with the right of free speech. >> what did the white house do wrong, then, governor romney if they put out a statement saying they disagreed witness? >> their administration spoke. the president takes responsibility not just for the words that come from his mouth but also for the words that come from his ambassadors from his administration, from his embassies, from the state department. they clearly sent mixed messages to the world, and the statement that came from the administration, and the embassy is the administration. the statement that came from the administration was a statement which is akin to apology and i think was a severe miscalculation. >> you talk about mixed signals. the world was watching, isn't this assault a mixed stph-ls when you criticize the president when americans are being killed shouldn't politics stop.

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>> we were speaking about the different courses we could take with regard to the challenges the world faces. the president and i have differences of opinion with regard to israel and our policies there, with regards to iran, with regards tow afghanistan, with regards to syria we have many distinctions and differences. we join together in the condemnation of attacks on the american embassies and the loss of american life and join in sympathy for these people. it's also important for me just as it was for the white house last night by the way to say that the statements were inappropriate, and in my view a disgraceful statement on the part of our administration to apologize for american values. >> governor some people have said that you jumped the gun a little in putting that statement out last night and you should have waited until more details were available. do you regret having that statement come out so early before we learned about all the things that were happening? >> i don't think we ever hesitate when we see something which is a violation of our principles.

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we express immediately when we feel that the president and his administration have done something which is than consistent with the principles of america. simply put, having an epls bas embassy which has been breached and has protestors on its grounds. having violated the sovereignty of the united states. having to embassy reiterating a statement apologizing for the right of free speech is not the right course for an administration. >> if you had known last night that the ambassador had died, i'm gathering you did not know. >> that came later. >> if you had known that the ambassador had died. >> i'm not going to take hypothetical what would have been known when and so forth. we responded last night in the events that happened in egypt. >> now that foreign policy and the situation in the middle east has been thrust into the presidential campaign can you talk about why specifically you're better qualified than president obama to handle these specific issues.

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>> i think president obama has demonstrated a lack a car a tee as to a foreign policy. my foreign policy has three fundamental branches. first, confidence in our cause, a recognition that the principles america is based upon is not something we shrink from or apologize for. that we stand for those principles. the second is clarity in our purpose which is when we have a foreign policy objective we describe it uponness lee and clearly to the american people, to congress, and to the people of the world. and number three, is resolve in our might. that in those rare circumstances, those rare circumstances where we decide it's essential for us to apply military might, that w mite, that we do so with force and with clarity of mission and with the u.s. mission involved and understand when it will be complete, what will be left behind us when that mission has been terminated.

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these elements i believe are essential to our foreign policy and i haven't seen them from the president. as i've watched over the past three and a half years the president has had some successes, he's had some failures, it's a hit-or-miss approach but it has not bee based upon sound foreign policy. >> how specifically governor romney would a president romney have handled this situation differently than president obama. you spoke out before midnight when all the facts weren't known, how would you have handled this differently than the president did. >> i spoke out when the key fact was known, which was that the embassy of the united states issued what appeared to be a policy for american principles. that was a mistake. i believe when a mistake is made of that significance you speak out. >> governor romney -- bill: three or four minutes in the statement and the questions that followed from reporters there in jacksonville. a couple of moving parts in this

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press conference to bring you up to date. first with regard to the attack on the consulate in benghazi libya he called it outrageous. we had heavy hearts for theour lives lost there. he called it disgusting, and america cannot shrink from the ability to lead. lead came up often. we have heard that from him repeatedly. that has been what governor romney considers to be a fresh target. as for the back and forth questioning from reporters that goes become to a statement that was released late last night on behalf of governor romney when he said the following with regard to the embassy being breached in cairo, egypt. remember the u.s. embassy initially put out a statement in cairo suggesting some sort of apology for what had happened with regard to this muslim film that had made fun of the prophet

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mohammed. >> it's disgraceful that the obama administration first response was not to condemn these attacks. governor romney did not back down from that. he called it a severe miscalculation, he said the a poll stkwrao apology was inappropriate and considers the foreign policy from this administration a hit and miss report. martha: we are joined by tim pawlenty, and former presidential candidate. good to have you with us this morning. a lot going on. >> good morning, martha, good to be with you. martha: talk to me a little bit about how you think governor romney did just then. >> i thought he addressed the situation appropriately and with focus and with a proper tone. first expressing condolence for the loss of ambassador stevens and of course the loss of the other lives and the impact it's had on their families and loved ones, our hearts and prayers go to them.

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number two making sure the proper folk kiss us on the fact that no violence is justified by speech. violent acts need to be condemned. the statements out of the cry row embassy that seemed to suggest the protests leading up to the attacks or the attacks themselves might have been somehow in context because of a value of free speech back in the united states, those two things are disconnected, and to have the obama administration through the embassy seem to issue what was akin to an apology for that behavior it's right for governor romney to call that out and say that was a mistake, it's a sign of hesitantly, mixed messages and a sign of improper focus by the obama administration. martha: thank you for sticking with us. we've had a lot of moving parts today. we are waiting for the president to speak now. we have to keep it short. we appreciate you being here. bill: on the record today hillary clinton has spoken, so too has governor mitt romney. we will hear from the president live from the rose garden in a matter of minutes in washington

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as our coverage continues. >> a free and stable libya is still in america's interest and security, and we will not turn our back on that. nor will we rest until those responsible for these attacks are found and brought to justice. woman 1: this isn't just another election. we're voting for... the future of our medicare and social security. man 1: i want facts. straight talk. tell me your plan... and what it means for me. woman 2: i'm tired of the negative ads and political spin. that won't help me decide. man 2: i earned my medicare and social security. and i deserve some answers. anncr: where do the candidates stand on issues that... affe seniors today and in the future?

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martha: we are in a breaking

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news environment here this morning and we are moments away from president obama's remarks. he will speak -- it's supposed to be at 10:35. a couple of minutes from now we expect from the rose garden he will talk about the murder of four americans at the u.s. embassy in libya, including our u.s. ambassador to libya christopher stevens. i am joined by bret baier live in washington. we heard from governor romney and we await the president, bret. >> three big things here, one is obviously the death of ambassador stevens, well respected in the diplomatic core, and tragic death here with these protestors in firing a rocket-propelled grenade in the consulate in benghazi and three other americans killed there. if you look at the situation in libya, when gaddafi was removed not a single american service member or diplomat was killed in that whole operation and yet four have been lost here. secondly you have the

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overarching question about the arab spring, and how it is playing out, and how it is not playing out, much like it was sold at the beginning of the talk of the arab spring, when it was going from the beginning and then third is the politics of all of this. you just heard governor romney talking about that original statement from the cairo embassy, essentially saying that they were speaking down, condemning this video, this anti-islam video that was made by someone in the u.s. it's really not getting a lot of attention, but it was getting a lot of attention overseas and the cairo embassy put out this statement. romney reacted to that. the question is whether that was a cleanup effort by the romney campaign to come out and take questions about that, because they felt they needed to get ahead of it. martha: you know that remains to be seen politically i guess what their motivation was in the press conference whether it was to do some control over that issue or whether it was to

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present what governor romney would have done in a similar situation. that was the last question that was put to him as he was leaving this morning. you know, it's an interesting point and i believe it was raised at the convention and i can't remember whether it was by president obama or perhaps by vice president joe biden, that not one american life was lost in libya in the effort to end the dictatorship of muammar gadhafi, and indeed with the deaths of christopher stevens and shaun smith and two others, hillary clinton says they are still notifying the next of kin in those situations, that number changes a bit. >> it's a dangerous situation on the ground and now you have these protests that not only there but increased security for diplomatic efforts by the u.s. across the world, ordered by the president and the state department. libya was making some progress in the post gaddafi world, and

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ambassador stevens was a big part of trying to get libya on its feet. there is another part of that that you'll likely hear from capitol hill today, and that is the money part, the aid part to libya, and to egypt. egypt in particular has not condemned the attack on the embassy in cairo. the government there, the new government, the muslim brotherhood has in fact called for more demonstrations against that video, and in part against the u.s. the u.s. is giving egypt some $1.5 billion in aid, and i would imagine congress at some point will weigh into that. i think you're getting into a larger kind of bigger issue here about u.s. policy, and how that plays out on the political campaign and the presidential campaign i think is fascinating. remember that in just one day we are now focusing pretty heavily on foreign policy, and this is how fast it can turn, and we'll

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see how long this affects this campaign. martha: great point. bill: bret i was struck by the statement from hillary clinton too when she talked about heavily armed attackers. if you consider the number of fighters that libya has contributed to al-qaida in afghanistan, and to a lesser degree in iraq and just this past week ironically it was confirmed that a leader was taken out by a drone, put there by al-qaida leadership it's stunning what has come out of libya. when he talked about the leadership issue it came up often. american cannot shrink from the responsibility to lead. called the foreign policy administration a hit-or-miss approach. it strikes me as almost a precursor to what we will hear when the debates get underway in october, does it not in. >> i totally agree, bill.

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you will start to see this theme both on the economy and on polis to be a leadership election, not a stewardship. this needs to be showing leadership not only here in america, leading the economy, but showing leadership around the world, peace through strength, other phrases that you've heard both mitt romney and paul ryan say. i think they were trying to use this moment to distinguish themselves between the romney camp and how they would approach something like this. and president obama. but when ambassador stevens was killed it changed the dynamic a bit and i think governor romney had to get out and answer those those today. there will be a lot of talk politically about whether that was the right thing to do to get out before the president's speech in the rose garden or not. but governor romney taking those questions today. you're right, though, the leadership question will be the big question going forward. bill: on page two of that whole

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point is this question of an apology, whether it was or whether it was not. that seemed to be the primary interests of the reporters there with governor romney a moment ago. when he said the apology was inappropriate. he has spoken many times about how he believes the administration has been on an apology tour. that also is a bit of a teaser as we say in television that will lead to these debates and he will make his point as to how he believes this president has apologized first and explained later. >> the key point on this. from this whole statement from the cry ro cairo embassy is when did this statement come out? the first statement from the cairo embassy didn't have anything about the protestors or the violence, it specifically dealt with this video. and it essentially said that -- it condemned the video and any effort to speak against anyone's religious beliefs, and it didn't

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say anything else about any other issues. now if the statement came out before any of these protestors assembled and climbed the walls, that's one thing. if the original statement came out when the protestors had already taken down the american flag and put up that black flag that looks a lot like the al-qaida flag, and had been chanting, osama bin laden is one of us, if that statement came out then it's a different timeframe. so i think that is one of of the things we have to find out. i don't think we have found that out as of yet. it's also interesting to point out that this happened on 9/11, and we shouldn't forget that. it's not a coincidence perhaps that both of these events happened on 9/11. they are saying that it was all about this video, but listening to some of those chants and the reporting of people on the ground osama bin laden was mentioned numerous times by the

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people there. martha: i'm struck, bret, by the fact that often in presidential election cycles it feels like it's all about one thing. you know, it has felt like this whole election was going to be about the economy. and you get this. perhaps, you know, late summer, early fall surprise eruption in the middle east that suddenly makes everybody have to be on their a game on a completely different topic. as carl cameron pointed out the commercials and the ads are in the bank and they are all about the economy so far. >> that's right it turns on a dime. it could turn three or four more times. we don't know what is going to happen with israel and iran. look at just what happened yesterday with the israeli officials saying that they were snubbed with this meeting with benjamin netanyahu, trying to request a meeting with president obama in new york. the israelis said they requested a meeting in washington, that they were willing, the prime minister was willing to fly down to washington, then the white

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house saying that there was no request for a meeting in washington last night, and that the president talked for an hour on the phone with benjamin netanyahu last night, a very detailed release last night by the white house, something that usually doesn't come out in that detail. i mean that focus just last night was indicative of how things can turn quickly. i mean this day shows how we deal in chapters in presidential campaigns, and we're in this chapter right now, how long this chapter lasts we'll see. the romney campaign i think was hoping that this would be a time that they could differentiate and we'll see if they've made it. martha: here comes president obama and he is with hillary clinton the secretary of state. >> every day all across the world american diplomats and civilians work tirelessly to advance the interests and values of our nation. often they are away from their

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families, sometimes they brave great danger. yesterday four of these extraordinary americans were killed in an attack on our diplomatic post in benghazi. among those killed was our ambassador, chris stevens, as well as foreign service officer shaun smith. we are still notifying the families of the others who were killed. and today the american people stand united in holding the families of the four americans in our thoughts and in our prayers. the united states condems in the strongest terms in outrageous and shocking attack. we're working with the government of libya to secure our dip plea matter. i've directed my administration to increase our security at diplomatic po*es aroun posts around the world. and make no mistake we will work with the libyan government to bring to justice the killers who attacked our people.

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since our founding the united states has been a nation that respects all faiths. we reject all efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of other. but there is absolutely no justification for this type of senseless violence, none. the world must stand together to unequivocally reject these brutal acts. already many libyans have joined us in doing so. and this attack will not break the bonds between the united states and libya. libyan security personnel fought back against the attackers alongside americans. libyans helped some of our diplomats find safety and they carried ambassador stevens' body to the hospital where we tragically learned that he had died. it's especially tragic that chris stevens died in benghazi because it is a city that he helped to save. at the height of the libyan revolution chris led our diplomatic post in benghazi with

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characteristic skill, courage and resolve he built partnerships with libyan revolutionaries and helped them as they planned to build a new libya. when the gaddafi regime came to an end chris was there to serve as our ambassador to the new libya an worked tirelessly to support this young democracy and i think both secretary clinton and i relied deeply on his knowledge of the situation on the ground there. he was a role model to all who worked with him, and the young diplomats who aspire to walk in his footsteps. along with his colleagues chris died in a country that is still striving to emerge from the recent experience of war. today the loss of these four americans is fresh, but our memories of them linger on. i have no doubt that their legacy will live on through the work that they did far from our

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shores and in the hearts of those who loved them back home. of course yesterday was already a painful day for our nation as we mark the solemn memory of the 9/11 attacks. we mourned with the families who were lost on that day. i visited the graves of troops who made the ultimate sacrifice in iraq and afghanistan at the hallowed grounds of arlington cemetery, and had the opportunity to say thank you and visit some of our wounded warriors at walter reed. and then last night we learned the news of this attack in benghazi. as americans let us never, ever forget that our freedom is only sustained because there are people who are willing to fight for it, to stand up for it, and in some cases lay down their lives for it. our country is only as strong as the character of our people and the service of those, both civilian and military who represent us around the globe.

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no acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character, or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for. today we mourn for more americans who represent the very best of the oo united states of america. we will not waiver in our commitment to see that justice is done for this terrible act, and make no mistake, justice will be done. but we also know that the lives these american leads stand in stark contrast to those of their attackers. these four americans stood up for freedom and human dignity. they should give every american great pride in the country that they served, and the hope that our flag represents to people around the globe who also yearn to live in freedom and with dignity. we grieve with their families but let us carry on their memory and let us continue their work of seeking a stronger america

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and a better world for all of our children. thank you. and god bless the memory of those we lost and may god bless the united states of america. p mr. president is this an act of war? martha: the president not taking any questions after that. but clearly saying that there was no justification for this violence that happened in benghazi and the loss of four of our diplomats including the u.s. ambassador. he overlapped quite a bit in some ways with the statement that we heard earlier from hillary clinton, and then he said that justice will be done, make no mistake, for the loss of this u.s. ambassador christopher stevens and three others. we will be right back. [ male announcer ] inside the v8 taste lab. tomato, obviously. haha. there's more than that though, there's a kick to it. there's a pop. wahlalalalallala! pepper, but not pepper, i'm getting like, pep-pepper. it's kind of like drinking a food that's a drink, or a drink that's a food, zip zip zip zip zip!

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>> since our founding the united

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states has been a nation that respects all faiths. we reject all efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. but there is absolutely no justification to this type of senseless violence, none. the world must stand together to unequivocally reject these brutal acts. already many libyans have joined us in doing so. and this attack will not break the bonds between the united states and libya. bill: that from moments ago in the rose garden from president obama saying the nation mourns the loss of four americans, also saying their work will live on. peggy noonan "wall street journal" columnist with me now. good morning to you. we are 55 days away from the national election. what did you hear in the president's comments here. >> oh, man this is just so interesting. let me give you a very preliminary sense. i thought both he and secretary clinton who spoke a little earlier spoke so appropriately and moving lee of the sacrifices

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made by members of the american diplomatic core, we don't hear that enough and it is always true, hel they are out there, they are living if dangerous places, they are unarmed. the president in general and i think mr. romney who spoke right before the president, there is a certain rounde round rounded platitudness in how they speak. what is interesting about the president's speech -- sorry secretary of state clinton did also, they all seemed to be shying away from the higher meaning of this event, of what it means when an american ambassador is killed by a mob in another country. so there is a -- there is a sense of absence in the remarks i think that i sense. bill: we heard from hillary clinton, it was clear that she

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had a personal relationship with this man and she seemed to be very taken aback by that. here is governor romney in jacksonville also in the past 35 minutes. >> in attack on american individuals on embassies is outrageous, it's disgusting, it breaks the hearts of all of us who think of these people who have served during their lives for the cause of freedom and justice and honor. we mourn their loss. bill: from there he took several questions. it got heated for a couple of minutes. how did governor romney told himself? >> um, i was thinking as he spoke, i think i belong to the old school of thinking that in times of great drama and heightened crisis, and in times when something violent has happened to your people i always think discretion is the better way to go.

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when you step forward in the midsh of a political environment and start giving statements on something dramatic and violence that has happened you're always leaving yourself open to accusations that you are trying to exploit things politically. i don't feel that mr. romney has been doing himself any favors, say in the past few hours, perhaps since last night. sometimes when really bad things happen, when hot things happen cool words or no words is the way to go. bill: it's hard to piece together the timeline at the moment. and we must give that conversation too. because between cairo in the east and benghazi to its west, we are trying to piece together when the embassy statement was put out. was it considered an apology, especially on september 11th, the most single, sensitive date in our country i would argue. >> yeah, the u.s. embassy in

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egypt's original statement after the crowds got out of control there seemed to me to sound weak and frightened, but it must have been a frightening moment for a lot of people. i really don't higher meaning there is. bill: peggy, thank you. peggy noonan from the "wall street journal." good to have you. the news continues. martha: we have been covering this story throughout. it will continue. south carolina senator lindsey graham on the arms services committee on what the military response should be or could be to the situation that is unfolding in libya and in egypt. we'll be right back. mom: ready to go to work?